The Art Of Building Houses In Video Games

Hello Everyone!

As you all know, I love building houses in The Sims 4. Now, granted, my favourite medium is The Sims 4, but I am also exploring other video games and creating houses in unique and different ways that test my imagination and creativity. Mind you, I haven’t played these other games for very long, and no, I’m not just talking about InZoi and Paralives. There are other games where you can build your own home, from the ground up, like in Palia, or Disney Dreamlight Valley (yes, there is an element of building your own home in that game as well), and even Genshin Impact.

Let’s get back to the topic at hand. In some of these other games, haven’t built my houses quite as quickly, or with as many details, as I do with The Sims 4. These other games take more time, because they’re not just building games. These games tend to have roleplaying aspects to them that will force you to craft your furniture and decoration, one step at a time, and sometimes, those steps are locked behind quests, missions and levels, which I haven’t progressed enough in, to create the more detailed furniture I want. However, the furniture I have made has been placed in my houses purposefully, because I don’t just want a haphazard house with pieces that don’t make sense, because just like in real life, there is an art to furnishing and decorating a house.

Trying To Make Realistic Homes In A Video Game Teaches The Basics Of Interior Design

Now, I’m not a professional interior designer, I don’t claim to be, and I will be happy to keep saying this, so you don’t take my word as gospel. However, I will say that whenever I build my own homes in the Sims 4, I try to adhere to real world architectural rules, like determining the way pipes are run through a house, or imagining what it would be like to run the electrics of the lights, plug sockets and electrical items in the home. For the most part, when I do start designing, these thoughts go over my head, but after working in the construction industry (as an admin assistant, I didn’t do the manual labour), I did learn quite a few things about the structure of buildings and what it means to wire things correctly, or create a structure of a home, so when I do start building, these things are unconsciously in my brain.

For example, you’ll see that in most of the bathrooms I make, I add a vent above the shower, or align an extractor fan with its exterior part, in the kitchen. That’s because, from my experience, without a vent or a window you can open, mould can develop, and it can cause problems, especially in countries like the UK. So, I try to add vents in both the kitchen and bathrooms, and for bigger builds, I try to imagine that there are vents built into the ceiling, to help trapped moisture escape, and ventilate a room. Of course, in The Sims, you can’t really be too accurate, since they don’t have the facilities for that, but you can get pretty close. Not to mention, it’s even more difficult to be accurate to real life in other video games, like Palia or Genshin Impact; the idea of these kinds of fixtures are never considered, so you can’t ever be accurate in building a house, although it’s always a good idea practice, so when you do renovate or create a house of your own, you'd have considered these annoying but necessary parts.

Building Dream Homes Expand Design Creativity

Now, I’m not one to try and build crazy shapes or try different artistic designs. I will leave that to the architects who have that vision. However, every time I come across an interesting design, meaning I see an outlandish shaped house, like a futuristic looking “S” design, I take a look, and I’m inspired by what the builder has achieved. It sometimes makes me wonder if I could attempt something similar. Of course, I’m still starting out in my build journey, so I’m not at the stage yet to try and be that creative, but I hope one day, I can be.

Regardless, it doesn’t matter if it’s a funky design or creating challenge builds (and I mean challenges for your Sims, like creating a maze to get in and out of a house…that’s just cruel to me), or even just creating your dream home, every design is a challenge to the builder, and it develops their creativity. When I first started building, in the Sims 2, and this is going way back, I was creating very modern houses, inspired by some of the builders I was watching, back then. There were a couple of designs that I emulated in my own game, which I loved, but looking back on them now, I kind of find them bland. Nowadays, I love houses with character, spaces that have stories to tell and look as if they’re lived in, like with my recent builds, I always imagine what kind of people live in these homes, and what stories they create. It’s this kind of attitude that I take with me, when I start creating a home, because, in my opinion, they are more attractive than the standard generic beauty of a show home.

Decorating Homes In Video Games Help Teaches Colour Theory

I never really understood why I liked certain colour combinations, when it came to furniture and decorative pieces. Whenever I placed an object down, I’d know almost right away what other pieces should go with it. So, say for example, I used a yellow sofa in a living room. Instantly, I’d go for furniture and decorative pieces that are similar in warmth, or I’d pair it with more neutral colours, and add a few plants, to balance the harshness of the yellow. By doing so, I’m unconsciously teaching myself about colour theory, and there are many rules in design, covering it and its ratio.

For example, you have the 10, 30, 60 rule, where you pick a main colour, and use 2 other colours, to balance and harmonise it, so it isn’t too harsh or too bland. For example, if you have a white room, this is your 60 mark (i.e. 60%). The next mark, the 30% mark, should be the contrast colour, which you use to balance the brightness of your white. So, say for example, we’re going for a coastal theme for your room, you’d choose a medium or dark blue, for the contrast colour, and this can be in your furniture and textures. The last is your 10% mark, and this is your accent, you can use this colour to add depth or vibrance, depending on the style you’re going for, so throw on a few pale-yellow cushions on your furniture pieces, or a pale peach vase on a table. Over time, as you build and decorate more dream homes, you’ll understand how effective colour theory can be, especially when you are mindful of the items you’re adding to the home.

You Are Learning The Art Of Building Houses In Video Games

Now I know I’m just repeating myself but hear me out. Even if you haven’t received proper training, you are still learning about interior design, when you build houses in The Sims 4 and in other video games. When you try to build realistic houses, and use real world designs, as inspiration for your own builds, you are essentially learning the art of building a house. It won’t be accurate, and if you think you can take on being an architect or interior designer in real life, be careful about that, you will need proper training if you do.

However, for those of us who can’t afford a course like that, or don’t have the skills or enough resources to take on those courses, our house builds, in our video games is enough. Of course, I’m only speaking for myself, because I know I’m not ready to take on a proper architecture or interior design course, but even still, I use whatever architectural rules are out there in the world, to help me create realistic builds. I may end up creating a monstrosity, or I might make a design that’s true to real life, in which case I would feel proud of myself for it, because it might be something I could use as inspiration for a real house. Who knows.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough today. I’m going to go finish the next video for you guys. In the meantime, please don’t forget to like, subscribe, comment, share and follow me, here on Feather’s Charm, on my YouTube channel, on my other social media channels (Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok), and on Patreon. Your support really does help me make more content like this, for you guys,

And as always, be kind, be creative, and be unique.

I’ll see you later!

Feather, out!